Make new voting record ; PM Narendra Modi

CM Jairam Thakur urges voters…

On Saturday amid tight security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the voters in the hill state to enthusiastically participate in the "festival of democracy", a reference to the assembly polls, and create a new voting record. 

According to the tweet, PM Modi also greeted the young voters who will be exercising their franchise for the first time.

According to the statement, People of the hill state are voting today to elect a new government, with the incumbent BJP and the opposition Congress squaring off in their bid to form the next government. Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur also urged voters to come out in big numbers and enthusiastically participate in the "festival of democracy".

He said every vote will help build a prosperous Himachal Pradesh. "First vote, then refreshments. Dear fellow state residents, today is the day of voting. "My humble request to all voters of Himachal Pradesh is to participate in this festival of democracy with full enthusiasm," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Over 55 lakh voters in Himachal Pradesh will exercise their franchise on Saturday to elect the 68-member Assembly in the single-phase poll that began at 8 AM and will continue till 5 PM. Out of 412 candidates in the fray, among them 24 are women and 388 men.

A total of 55,92,828 voters will elect their representatives. Of them, 193,106 are first-time voters in the age of 18-19 years. 

There are 121,409 voters above 80 years, while 56,501 others with disabilities.